Here is the latest news live from Sleep Train Arena:
- The Sacramento Kings (6-4) attempt to win their second straight and improve to 4-1 at home tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans (5-4). Like the Kings, the Pelicans have had troubles closing out tight games, which was evident in their 102-93 loss in Portland last night. “It’s part of being a young team, but you can’t use that as an excuse anymore,” Pelicans coach Monty Williams said in pre-game. “The bottom line is you’ve got to make plays. We did it against San Antonio. We didn’t do it last night. We’ve got to grow from it.”
- Coach Michael Malone knows Williams well from their time together in New Orleans. With both of these teams off to a fast start, tonight’s game should be a chess match between two coaches with very diverse rosters. “Obviously I love Monty, I worked with him, I have a ton of respect for him as a man and as a coach, but when that ball goes up, Monty’s not worried about me and I’m not worried about him,” Malone said. “We’re both trying to get a win.”
- Jimmer Fredette joins John Salmons and Tyreke Evans as former Kings returning to Sacramento Tuesday in a different uniform. The 25-year-old guard has played in six of the Pelicans’ nine contests this season, averaging 2.8 points in 11.6 minutes per game. “I’m fitting in well,” Fredette told Cowbell Kingdom. “I’m just trying to do my part each and every single day in practice and on the court. These guys are good guys. They play as hard as they can every night.”
- After being listed as questionable yesterday with right Achilles tendinitis, Rudy Gay was upgraded to probable this afternoon and according to coach Michael Malone, he will start tonight for Sacramento. Jason Thompson is probable with left quadriceps tendinitis and is expected to play.
- Omer Asik is out with lower back spasms for New Orleans. 7-foot-2 center Alexis Ajinca will start in his place. “We’ve got to look at him and make sure he’s right,” Williams said of Asik. “He’s important to us, so we don’t want to put him on the floor if he’s not 100 percent.”
- Sacramento native Ryan Anderson is healthy and ready to compete tonight for the Pelicans. The former Oak Ridge High School star is averaging 15.8 points per game while shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range off New Orleans’ bench this season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
